In financial institutions, automatic teller machines of bills are installed, and the automatic teller machine can automatically record a booklet such as a bankbook.
A recording unit of a booklet has a page turning device for turning a page, and the page turning device turns pages to reach a page on which printing is to be performed.
A booklet is not always inserted in a normal state in which the cover of the booklet is up. A booklet may be inserted in various states, for example, in a face reversed state.
In this case, a conventional method requires the following operation, for example. (1) The booklet is once conveyed back to a booklet insert portion, and an operator is asked to insert the booklet again with the cover being up. (2) Pages of inner sheets are turned again and again to reach a page close to a predetermined cover.
However, in the method (1), it is cumbersome for the operator to do so, In the method (2), there is a problem in that a processing time becomes enormous as the number of pages of the booklet increases.
In order to solve these problems, an opened page may be once folded and closed, and a booklet reversing apparatus coupled with a turning apparatus may reverse the booklet. That is, after the cover is placed upside, the page turning apparatus may perform turning operation from the cover (or the back cover).
For example, the reversing apparatus has a booklet holding plate for holding a conveyed booklet, and this booklet holding plate is rotated 180 degrees by a rotation mechanism, so that the booklet is rotated.
In this method, however, the reversing apparatus is particularly needed to reverse the folded booklet. Therefore, there is a drawback in that the apparatus becomes large.
An apparatus has been developed in order to solve this problem. In this apparatus, the opened page and the page on the opposite side are closed together with the cover at a time. This apparatus can perform printing onto a page on the side of the cover without using the reversing apparatus.
Recently, booklets having pages of a high flexural rigidity for adding a high value have emerged. For example, such booklets have an ID page attached with a security protection layer for preventing counterfeiting and falsification of private information and a plastic page including an IC chip capable of high density recording. Some booklets have wireless IC chips capable of reading and writing information without contact. Front covers and back covers of some booklets have a radio wave insulating function in order to protect recorded information from illegal reading and writing operation. Such booklets can be read and written only when front the cover is turned over.
The above-described conventional apparatus pushes up a middle portion of a page of a booklet by using conveyor roller pairs sandwiching the middle portion. Therefore, when the booklet has a low flexural rigidity and is soft, the apparatus can bend and push up the booklet. However, when the booklet has a high flexural rigidity and is hard, the apparatus cannot push up the booklet, and there is a drawback in that, if the apparatus forcibly pushes up the booklet, the booklet may be damaged. Therefore, the conventional apparatus is far from convenient.